A Prayer by George MacLeod

George MacLeod (1895-1991)

A Prayer

Almighty God …
Sun behind all suns, 
soul within all souls …
Show to us in everything we touch and in everyone we meet 
the continued assurance of thy presence round us,
lest ever we should think thee absent.
In all created things thou art there.
In every friend we have
the sunshine of thy presence is shown forth.
In every enemy that seems to cross our path, 
thou art there within the cloud 
to challenge us to love.
Show to us the glory in the grey.
Awake for us thy presence in the very storm 
till all our joys are seen as thee
and all our trivial tasks emerge as priestly sacraments 
in the universal temple of thy love.

George MacLeod (1895–1991) was one of the most important and unconventional ministers of the Church of Scotland in his day. He founded the Iona Community on the island of the same name. This poem comes from The Whole Earth Shall Cry Glory: Iona Prayers (Wild Goose Publications, 2007), p.13–14.

Published on the Journey with Jesus website with an essay by Amy Frykholm